Description

The Government of Tanzania through the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration Department, in close collaboration with IOM, has launched a biometric registration system for irregular migrants in the country’s Tanga region.

The electronic registration (e-registration) of irregular and settled migrants in Tanzania follows a successful pilot project in Kigoma region in which more than 22,800 migrants were registered and provided with a personalized laminated photo ID card, which allows them to remain in Tanzania for up to two years, while their immigration status is determined by the Tanzanian authorities.

Historically, Tanga is a region which has hosted foreign (seasonal) workers for decades, especially in the sisal plantations. It is estimated that more than 50,000 migrants originating from Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia and other neighbouring countries have since settled in the villages of Tanga. The region is also part of the long Indian Ocean coastline used by many migrants from the East and Horn of Africa as a transit site on their way to South Africa, Europe or the Middle East.

The project, which will see 52 biometric registration kits distributed to regional and district immigration offices across the country, is being implemented in accordance with the government’s Comprehensive Migration Strategy for Tanzania (COMMIST), which seeks to identify, register, verify and determine the migration status of settled migrants in the country.

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Guidelines/Thematic Areas

GUIDELINE 2: Collect and share information on migrants, subject to privacy, confidentiality, and the security and safety of migrants

To protect migrants when conflicts or natural disasters erupt, States, private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society need information about migrant populations. Aggregated data on the municipal, national, regional, and international scale of migration and the demographics of migrants, such as gender, age, and nationality, enable stakeholders to understand the nature and scope of needs in the case of a crisis. Local-level migrant community profiles help stakeholders target responses. Some stakeholders collect detailed information on the location of migrants, how to contact individual migrants, emergency and family contacts, and specific vulnerability and needs. Recruitment and placement agencies collect information on the location and situation of labor migrants they deploy to other States and can be a useful source of information.

Migrants play a key role in sharing and updating their information to enable stakeholders to contact and assist them in the event of a conflict or natural disaster. That said, migrants in an irregular immigration status in particular may have reservations about putting themselves at risk by becoming more ‘visible’ and sharing contact and other information with stakeholders, especially State authorities. Such migrants are also more likely to be highly mobile and move from one temporary residence to another. Efforts to collect and share aggregated information on migrants in an irregular situation should address these barriers. Engaging civil society can help mitigate such challenges.

In cases where States, private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society collect personal data, they should respect privacy rights and confidentiality with a view to ensuring the safety and security of the migrants (and where relevant, other stakeholders) on whom they collect and share information. In collecting and handling information containing migrants’ personal details, stakeholders need to act in accordance with applicable law and standards on individual data protection and privacy. Stakeholders should also ensure informed consent. Stakeholders can adopt clear guidelines that define the type of personal data to be collected and the ways in which such data will be handled, including circumstances in which data can be shared.

Sample Practices

Registration systems for citizens abroad that enable States of origin (or family, community, or civil society, where practical and appropriate) to contact migrants in the event of a crisis and provide them with information on the crisis and available assistance.

Measures to encourage citizens to register, such as user-friendly, online registration systems that highlight the benefits and services that become available through registration.

Host State registration systems to collect information on migrants upon arrival.

Aggregated data and research on migration trends and demographics, including the purpose and routes of migration and nature and characteristics of migrants.

Information on migrant community profiles, migrant networks, and focal points.

Databases of migrant workers that include information on accompanying family members.

GUIDELINE 3: Empower migrants to help themselves, their families, and communities during and in the aftermath of crises

In order to help themselves and others and to enjoy their rights, migrants need access to identity documents, basic public services, and financial and other resources. Migrants’ ability to help themselves and enjoy their rights can be undermined by factors related to their entry and stay, means of arrival, connections to local populations, and conditions in the host State, including in workplaces. These factors can in turn undermine emergency response and recovery efforts.

States, private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society can promote migrants’ resilience and empower migrants to help themselves during and after a crisis by addressing underlying conditions of vulnerability. Respecting, protecting, and fulfilling migrants' human and labor rights in ordinary times advance these goals as do efforts to ensure migrants are able to access information, basic services, and administrative, judicial, and other redress mechanisms.

Legal, policy, and operational factors that constrain protection should be addressed. Examples of obstacles include laws, policies, and practical barriers that arbitrarily restrict the movement of migrants, enable arbitrary detention, discriminate between migrants and citizens in the provision of humanitarian assistance, or permit exploitative employment or recruitment practices.

In times of crisis, fear of immigration enforcement can inhibit migrants, particularly those in an irregular immigration status, from accessing necessary help. In this context, it is important to separate immigration enforcement actions from those that promote migrants’ access to services, humanitarian assistance, identity documents, and movement.

Stakeholders can provide migrants—prior to departure from the State of origin, upon arrival in the host State, and during their stay in the host State—with pertinent information related to country-specific conflict or natural disaster hotspots, rights and potential rights violations or abuses, ways to access timely, credible, and regular information, emergency contact points, and what to do and where to go in the event of a crisis. Building migrants’ skills to communicate in the host-State language and increasing migrants’ financial literacy may prompt migrants to invest in savings, take out micro-insurance, and better prepare for navigating unforeseen circumstances.

Sample Practices

Pre-departure and post-arrival training for migrants that includes crisis-related information.

Positive communication about migrants, including through migrant role models and campaigns to promote tolerance, non-discrimination, inclusiveness, and respect.